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You are here: Home Life in Lifestyle Post-election ’08: Picking the scab off a jagged wound
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12/11/2008Post-election ’08: Picking the scab off a jagged wound

Post-election ’08: Picking the scab off a jagged wound After the fog of euphoria lifted in the days following an extraordinary election, one American abroad realizes what it really means.

Yes we can − yes, we did: As the world celebrated the victory of Barack Obama, it was so easy to be swept away on that tide of optimism, to be bewitched by those magical words: change and hope. 

And in the days that followed Nov. 4, it was easy to accept the congratulations of my European friends, the smiles and thumbs up of German colleagues, neighbors and even waitresses. 
Democrats on verge of victory © bobster1985
Initially, it was also easy to initially think of this momentous event in terms of race, of oppression, of the vindication of a people and the transformation of another. But actually it was about so much more, something Europeans − and those who haven’t lived in the US in the past seven years − can only begin to understand: We got our country back.

It was a long time coming. After the September 11 attacks, we got lost. I think I didn’t even understand how much until last week.  

I was a frontline responder, covering the Pentagon (and Shanksville, Penn.) for a year from the day those planes became missiles. I was charged with translating chaos and pain into a language people across the nation could understand. I saw how people came together in the early aftermath. Later, I saw them break apart. 
Obama 2008 Presidential Campaign © Barack Obama
We as a people went a little numb and it only became worse. And because of that, we let our leaders repudiate who we are in the successive years by not protesting loudly enough when prisoners were denied lawyers or trials, when our own citizens came under questionable surveillance, when our government tried to justify torture and ‘extraordinary renditions’ with legal acrobatics − in our name. 

And it didn’t stop. But what happened was a series of increasingly erratic actions as our outrage turned to resignation. I remember some Americans saying in despair, “Where is my country?” Others told me they wanted to leave. Some I know did leave and didn’t want to return, a political refugee of sorts. It was as Judith Warner said in the New York Times a few days ago:
“The election brought the return of a country we’d lost for so long that it was almost forgotten under the accumulated scar tissue of accommodation and acceptance.”

Accommodation and acceptance. That’s it. We put our head in the sand and played along as one indignity after another happened, to us, and to the rest of the world.   
Photo © jmtimages
In late 2004, I remember seeing a famously liberal and usually very thoughtful newspaper columnist speak at a lecture. He spent an hour justifying why he had believed Bush when the president pushed the illogical theory in 2002 and 2003 that al Qaeda was then operating in Iraq and why he had previously supported the war there: He spent most of that talk in a defensive crouch, talking about how he felt on September 11 as a witness in New York.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  

But that was the climate in the US for the past seven years: The charges of not being patriotic enough when reporters questioned the president’s initiatives or didn’t wear flag pins; The accusations of ‘not supporting our troops’ when questioning strange Halliburton contracts or conduct by American soldiers at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. The atmosphere of paranoia, fear and cynicism.  

Many of us helplessly accepted that this is just the way things were going to be from now on even as there was a realization that this is not how we do things, this is not who we are. 

And that is what got shaken Tuesday. We said, decisively, no more. 

Speaking about Obama, Will Smith told Oprah after the election: “I get this, this is me, this is someone speaking to us that matches my sensory perception,” and started reciting the preamble to the Constitution, crying, laughing, sobbing.

Sarah Palin © jrubinic
That is why John McCain lost. He had a good chance of winning – until he picked Sarah Palin. She was a symbol of the past seven years of fear and anger, of the ‘real’ America, the divisive bitter America, something that even the red strongholds of Ohio, Virginia, Indiana and Nevada rejected. And it is sad for me to admit that I was shocked over that result because if the past years cost me anything, it cost me my tendency toward hope and a lot of faith in my country. 

That is what was momentous about Tuesday. It was a historic day that we chose a black man as our new president. But more important, more significant, is that we chose a way back. 

“Look what we did,” Colin Powell said choking on Nov. 4. What we did was shirk off a mantle of divisiveness and despair. What we did is pick off the scab of an jagged old wound and allow it to heal fully and in doing so, we got our America back.  
That’s why days after the election, many of us are still so weepy.
JB/Expatica


2 reactions to this article

Charles Mana posted: 2008-11-18 18:43:21

John McCain was the very last choice of Republicans to run for president. He was foisted onto the Republican Party by phony open primaries where democrats can sign in as republicans and republicans can sign in as democrats. Since the democrats are directly financed and supported bt Bolshevism you can bank on the fact that there was major democratic crossovers during the primary elections. McCain at most is a neo-con and at worst a closet democrat. To say that Sarah Palin caused the republicans to loose and to say that she represented the policies of the years since 9-11 is a totally stupid remark and I would personally like to slap some sense into them provided it was a man and not a woman. Sarah fought the crooked members of her own party in Alaska and she won. She has cleaned up the politics of Alaska mostly on her own by going to the people of Alaska for support and was smart enough to achieve all of her goals. Palin is a person who is strictly for what is right for the people of her state and the citizens of The United States. She has no hidden agendas and is not tied to any outside government organizations and she is not beholding to anybody in Washington D. C. or anywhere else. Sarah Palin is a fresh breeze from the North. Her opponents stated themselves that she has no connections and is naive. Sarah Palin gave John McCain the only chance to win. If Sarah Palin wouldn't have been on the ticket with McCain, he would have lost by a much greater margin than he did loose by.
Barak Obama is a front for the Bolsheviks who are pushing very hard to get the United States like when the Bolsheviks were trying to subdue all of Europe between WWII and WWI and especially Germany was targeted by the Talmudists, or Zionist, or Jews. They declared an economic war against Germany and cused businesses throughout the world to stop trading with Germany and as you of Germany know the Germany of that period depended on imports in trade for exports of the products of German Industry. The same ting is happening right now in America and the world called the Economic crisis which again is being caused by the world Bolshevism, Judaeo-Freemasons, Talmudic Judaeism and their Goyem cronies. The entire issue of Globalism is their plan to control the world and be leaches off the sweat and work of the Gentiles. To think that ALL THE DEATHS THAT OCCURRED FROM WORLD WAR ONE AND WORLD WAR TWO INCLUDING KOREA AND VIETNAM, AND ALL THE DEATHS IN THE UKRAINE AND THE SOVIET SOCIALISTS REPUBLIC WHERE MILLIONS OF CHRISTIANS WERE KILLED IN ALL MANNERS POSSIBLE. ALL THE MEN LOST IN THESE WARS AND VERY FEW JEWS FOUGHT IN THESE WARS. CONSIDER THE CHANGEOVER OF POWER FROM RULING FAMILIES TO JEWISH BANKERS TOOK PLACE DURING THIS TIME. ITS TIME TO TAKE THESE PEOPLE TO TASK AND LIMIT THEIR PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENTS OF ALL COUNTRIES AND ALSO LIMIT THEIR OWNERSHIP OF BUSINESSES IN ALL COUNTRIES SO AS TO KEEP THEM FROM GAINING AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE BECAUSE THE TALMUDISTS OPERATE UNDER A WHOLE DIFFERENT SET OF RULE. READ THE TALMUD. IT IS OK FOR JEWS TO CHEAT, LIE, MAKE FALSE PROMISES AND TO USE UNETHICAL BUSINESSES PRACTICES.
The countries of the west must get rid of the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary fund, the European Union, the United Nations and the World Bank. All you people of the west better face facts and no be bullied by guilt inflicted on Christians and others by the Talmudists. You must realize that the real victims are the Gentiles and no the Talmudist Tar-tar, and Mongols. These are Jews and not Hebrew or Israelites. They are not semitic they are anti-semitic and the Zionists and in the country they are killing the true Israelites, Arab Christians and Arab Muslims. People of Germany , tell your side of the history of the falsity of the Holocaust.

Ken Sturmer posted: 2008-11-19 15:39:05

Well, as you can see from the idiot who posted a reply. This is not over by any means!
This nation has been taken over by a bunch of ultra right wing nuts. It is going to take quite awhile to turn it back in the right direction. I only hope Obama is able to do this.

I am one of those, who was so ashamed of being an American, that I was busily planning on leaving. I may still do so! However a refugee, never has a country. I realize that. If I left, at my age. I could never really assimilate into a different culture, nor as a retiree would I ever be fully accepted.

I only hope that fools like the one who left those ridiculous comments about Obama, are not allowed to prevail. Unfortunately at least here where I live, in Central Florida. That kind of thinking seems to prevail. Immediately after the election, our local newspaper--which endorsed McCain because it claimed "Obama will lead us down the road to Socialism!" That same newspaper fired its only two liberal columnists. It showed it's true colors, and has kept denouncing anything Obama does. This is a mainstream newspaper, from one of Floridas largest cities! When the media is still promoting, right wing ideas. You can rest assured that it is anything but over yet. As the saying goes, " It's not over till the fat lady sings!". I have not yet seen the "fat lady" nor have I even seen her, here in Florida.

2 reactions to this article

Charles Mana posted: 2008-11-18 18:43:21

John McCain was the very last choice of Republicans to run for president. He was foisted onto the Republican Party by phony open primaries where democrats can sign in as republicans and republicans can sign in as democrats. Since the democrats are directly financed and supported bt Bolshevism you can bank on the fact that there was major democratic crossovers during the primary elections. McCain at most is a neo-con and at worst a closet democrat. To say that Sarah Palin caused the republicans to loose and to say that she represented the policies of the years since 9-11 is a totally stupid remark and I would personally like to slap some sense into them provided it was a man and not a woman. Sarah fought the crooked members of her own party in Alaska and she won. She has cleaned up the politics of Alaska mostly on her own by going to the people of Alaska for support and was smart enough to achieve all of her goals. Palin is a person who is strictly for what is right for the people of her state and the citizens of The United States. She has no hidden agendas and is not tied to any outside government organizations and she is not beholding to anybody in Washington D. C. or anywhere else. Sarah Palin is a fresh breeze from the North. Her opponents stated themselves that she has no connections and is naive. Sarah Palin gave John McCain the only chance to win. If Sarah Palin wouldn't have been on the ticket with McCain, he would have lost by a much greater margin than he did loose by.
Barak Obama is a front for the Bolsheviks who are pushing very hard to get the United States like when the Bolsheviks were trying to subdue all of Europe between WWII and WWI and especially Germany was targeted by the Talmudists, or Zionist, or Jews. They declared an economic war against Germany and cused businesses throughout the world to stop trading with Germany and as you of Germany know the Germany of that period depended on imports in trade for exports of the products of German Industry. The same ting is happening right now in America and the world called the Economic crisis which again is being caused by the world Bolshevism, Judaeo-Freemasons, Talmudic Judaeism and their Goyem cronies. The entire issue of Globalism is their plan to control the world and be leaches off the sweat and work of the Gentiles. To think that ALL THE DEATHS THAT OCCURRED FROM WORLD WAR ONE AND WORLD WAR TWO INCLUDING KOREA AND VIETNAM, AND ALL THE DEATHS IN THE UKRAINE AND THE SOVIET SOCIALISTS REPUBLIC WHERE MILLIONS OF CHRISTIANS WERE KILLED IN ALL MANNERS POSSIBLE. ALL THE MEN LOST IN THESE WARS AND VERY FEW JEWS FOUGHT IN THESE WARS. CONSIDER THE CHANGEOVER OF POWER FROM RULING FAMILIES TO JEWISH BANKERS TOOK PLACE DURING THIS TIME. ITS TIME TO TAKE THESE PEOPLE TO TASK AND LIMIT THEIR PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENTS OF ALL COUNTRIES AND ALSO LIMIT THEIR OWNERSHIP OF BUSINESSES IN ALL COUNTRIES SO AS TO KEEP THEM FROM GAINING AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE BECAUSE THE TALMUDISTS OPERATE UNDER A WHOLE DIFFERENT SET OF RULE. READ THE TALMUD. IT IS OK FOR JEWS TO CHEAT, LIE, MAKE FALSE PROMISES AND TO USE UNETHICAL BUSINESSES PRACTICES.
The countries of the west must get rid of the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary fund, the European Union, the United Nations and the World Bank. All you people of the west better face facts and no be bullied by guilt inflicted on Christians and others by the Talmudists. You must realize that the real victims are the Gentiles and no the Talmudist Tar-tar, and Mongols. These are Jews and not Hebrew or Israelites. They are not semitic they are anti-semitic and the Zionists and in the country they are killing the true Israelites, Arab Christians and Arab Muslims. People of Germany , tell your side of the history of the falsity of the Holocaust.

Ken Sturmer posted: 2008-11-19 15:39:05

Well, as you can see from the idiot who posted a reply. This is not over by any means!
This nation has been taken over by a bunch of ultra right wing nuts. It is going to take quite awhile to turn it back in the right direction. I only hope Obama is able to do this.

I am one of those, who was so ashamed of being an American, that I was busily planning on leaving. I may still do so! However a refugee, never has a country. I realize that. If I left, at my age. I could never really assimilate into a different culture, nor as a retiree would I ever be fully accepted.

I only hope that fools like the one who left those ridiculous comments about Obama, are not allowed to prevail. Unfortunately at least here where I live, in Central Florida. That kind of thinking seems to prevail. Immediately after the election, our local newspaper--which endorsed McCain because it claimed "Obama will lead us down the road to Socialism!" That same newspaper fired its only two liberal columnists. It showed it's true colors, and has kept denouncing anything Obama does. This is a mainstream newspaper, from one of Floridas largest cities! When the media is still promoting, right wing ideas. You can rest assured that it is anything but over yet. As the saying goes, " It's not over till the fat lady sings!". I have not yet seen the "fat lady" nor have I even seen her, here in Florida.

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